Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross

Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen met in college and, despite all odds, became best friends. Except the town they come from, they have nothing in common and it shows, but during the last decade, they have taken a summer trip together and, until a few years ago, all was going well.

Now Poppy confronts the fact that the on thing that will make her truly happy is rekindling her friendship with him and will get him to take one last vacation that will prove to be the ultimate challenge.

This is my first read by the author and it’s a tremendously fun story with a lot of heart and core feelings that I like in my rom-com reads, but I didn’t love it the way I expected given the hype around Ms. Henry’s work. I liked the way the book is written and they way it goes back to the previous trips as well as the fact that Alex has always known he’s in love while Poppy has taken a little longer to get there.

In a nutshell, it’s definitely a good book, but maybe not the right choice for my first read. I’ll give Ms. Henry’s work another try before deciding whether or not we are not a good fit.

3 starts

I wasn’t expecting much from this story but oh how surprised I was! It’s super cute and quite funny. Both Alex and Poppy are great characters and I was so rooting for them! They felt so real and nuanced—it was great!

My only complaint is that there’s A LOT of travel descriptions from the past and all that’s fine, but sometimes I just wanted more Alex and Poppy time. Their time in the present summer is the best and my little heart teetered on the edge of breaking as I neared the end of this book because of, yeah, well read it if you want to know—but rest assured it did not break!

Anyway, I would’ve loved more steam and more saucy scenes—these two def deserved them! So if you’re looking for good frequent, sexy swoon material, eh, this might not be the book for you since it is sadly limited in its amount of heat. It’s more like getting a little baby peek at one great saucy scene but hey, I still loved it even though it was the only one. I think I would’ve also enjoyed just a bit more in the epilogue but it was sweet and nice how it was.

Overall a great read and very cute and funny. Though I do wish Poppy had discovered herself a little sooner so that Alex could catch a break and we the readers could squeal with delight sooner. Anyway, it’s worth it imo.

This was such an enjoyable summer read. The writing flows really well and is easy to get into, making it perfect for reading by the pool or at the end of the day. I loved the slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance , it felt natural and well developed rather than rushed. The banter between the characters was genuinely funny and kept me smiling throughout, and the female main character was strong, confident, and easy to root for. Overall, it’s a light but well-written romance that’s entertaining, charming, and hard to put down.

The irony is that I ordered this book for a Christmas gift for my daughter and she gave me a copy as well. It is my first Emily Henry book, but it won’t be my last. Following Poppy and Alex’s story was marvelous, adventurous and heart wrenching. The willingness and the work it takes to truly accept the person you love and who is your true home is written so well in this book. In a relationship you both have to choose to continue to uncover what truly binds you and to nurture that love and that connection. Loved this book!!

I’ll admit it—I messed up and watched the movie first 😅. But honestly? That didn’t ruin the book at all. If anything, I really liked already knowing the basics of Alex and Poppy’s story because the novel filled in so many emotional gaps and details that the movie couldn’t fully capture.

What I enjoyed most was how the book unfolded their love story through summers past while jumping back to the current summer. That structure worked really well, slowly revealing how their friendship evolved and where things went wrong. Each flashback added more depth and made their connection feel earned rather than rushed.

The banter was fun, the friendship-to-lovers tension was strong, and I loved getting inside their heads in a way only a book can do. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was a comforting, engaging read that made me appreciate their relationship even more.